The race to secure a place on the European Ryder Cup team in Bethpage Black is hotting up with just three months left to book a trip to New York.
Luke Donald’s side will head to Bethpage in September searching for a first win on US soil since the Miracle at Medinah in 2012 and only a third away success this century.
Home advantage has proven crucial in recent contests and Europe were dominant victors in Rome two years ago.
With the halfway stage of the major season having been reached, Rory McIlroy tops the qualification standings while Shane Lowry is tucked in behind him in second place.
McIlroy added a grand slam winning Masters title at Augusta National to his victories at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players while Lowry has two runner up finishes on the PGA Tour this season.
Captain Donald will be purring at the form some of his European prospects have shown so far this season with Europeans making up eight of the winners on the 2025 PGA TOUR calendar including Sepp Straka (twice), Ludvig Åberg and Thomas Detry.
Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard has also made an encouraging start in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR and he ranks third on the Ryder Cup points list while LIV golfer Tyrrell Hatton, Straka and Justin Rose complete the top-6 automatic qualifiers to date.
Tommy Fleetwood, Åberg, Detry and Matt Wallace make up the top-10 while there are some big European names on the outside looking in.
Viktor Hovland has shown signs of life lately, none more so than his win at the Valspar in March and he lies in 12th place while Robert MacIntyre is three places below.
Aaron Rai’s rookie bid is in good shape at 16th although he has work to do to force his way into the automatic places.
LIV player Jon Rahm is 24th in the standings despite a close shave at the PGA Championship. There are no Ryder Cup points on offer at LIV Golf events meaning the Spaniard will likely be relying on a captain’s pick from Donald.
Tom McKibbin is in the same boat at 35th in the standings while Matthew Fitzpatrick moved up 17 places to 39th thanks to a T8 finish at the PGA Championship.
Donald will have six captain;s picks when the qualifying process ends on Sunday August 24th.
Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Russell Henley make up the top-6 for the USA.
Roscommon star Olivia Costello’s dream of qualifying for the Junior Ryder Cup is still very much alive. The two-time winner in Spain and Woodbrook this season is eight in the qualifying list with the top-3 earning automatic spots.
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